SSA Group, a best-in-class provider of integrated guest services, has announced that it now provides retail operation services for Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the sixth-largest cathedral in the world and the second-largest in the US.
Washington National Cathedral is a house of prayer for all people, conceived by its founders to serve as a great church for national purposes. It sees more than 418,000 visitors each year.
Driving revenue for the Cathedral
SSA Group took over retail operations for the Cathedral on 8 December 2023. Some of the top-selling products include stained glass pieces representing some of the 215 stained glass windows throughout the Cathedral, and gargoyles that depict the 112 gargoyles on the building. This famously includes a Darth Vader grotesque, located on one of the Cathedral’s northwest towers. The Cathedral also sells a range of architecture and history items.
SSA says that it is looking forward to continuing to evolve the product selection at Washington National Cathedral going forward, and will be bringing in products from local artists and makers in the future. The firm also plans to create a seasonal marketplace shop within the parking garage, which will drive additional revenue for the Cathedral during peak seasons.
Elsewhere, the firm has been working with partner Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden to help the attraction achieve its goal of becoming Net Zero Waste by 2025. Together with community partners, a cross-departmental team at the zoo set out to make its major 2023 fundraising events zero waste. They were successful in diverting 3 tons of recyclable materials and 2 ½ tons of rubbish from the landfill.
SSA Group also recently announced that it is providing retail services for the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle. The firm, which took over the retail operations in early November, also provides culinary services at MoPOP.
